The Shaded Spirit
by WriteLover5
Summary: Though he may be a ladies' man, Loke was at a loss when it came to Lucy. Her spirit was one even he hadn't ever before experienced. Before he even knew her, he knew he was to protect her even if that meant walking away. Though she'd partnered up with Natsu, Loke was left with the feeling that they were connected by something far stronger than their magic.
1. Chapter 1

Living in a guild, the rumors spread like wild fire. Everyone knew everyone's strengths and the stories of what made them tick. There were many rumors regarding Loke, play boy of Fairy Tail. What was known was that his dedication to his lady friends only lasted for as long as their coos and dreamy gazes, never passed to the tears and emotional embraces.

Little else was known. His past was not open to discussion, nor was his instinctive dislike of celestial wizards. Even his magic remained a mystery to his fellow guild members.

The first time that he saw her, she was just another pretty face come to the guild in search of a home, a family. Her excitement was palpable, radiating off of her as she stood in the open doorway, sunlight streaming in behind her while she surveyed the scene before her. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a scene. It was a brawl. But such was the life in the guild. He'd only been there a few years, but already he felt like part of the excitement, the draw to Fairy Tail.

Finally he had come to have a place here. His spirit may always long for home, but as time passed it hurt less and less. Eventually, he knew, it would cease to hurt at all.

He wasn't above throwing a few punches just to get her attention. It had landed him in _Sorcerer's_ _Weekly_ more than a few times as an eligible bachelor, so he figured it could do no harm to have a little demonstration of his abilities though his strength was a fraction of what it had been years ago.

When Loke next glanced her way, more than a few chairs had been shattered around the room and Mirajane was crushed beneath her brother. Natsu was swinging a pair of black boxers around on his fingers and Grey, the idiotic pervert, had sidled up next to the blonde bombshell, completely comfortable in his birthday suit while panic showed in her expression.

The guild had become a noisy place. Extra noise had a way of causing headaches more and more lately, his senses getting irritated while he felt like letting out a roar to silence them all, maybe pay them back for all the extra noise. Not to mention their insensitivity for just prancing about naked in the hopes someone had some extra underwear on hand for them.

Coming up behind the girl, Loke pulled her away from Gray, who was still reeling from the hit she'd given him.

"I simply can't stand these insensitive fools." He grinned, feeling more than a little victorious as he hoisted her into his arms. Honestly he was considering just walking out with his little prize. The impression of her body against his was a pleasant sensation he just couldn't rid himself of even when an arm too well muscled connected with his chin.

When the others started powering up, he had the vague idea that their aim might be a bit off and hitting this new girl before she even had a chance to get her feet on the ground seemed wrong on so many levels. Consider the damage it would do to that lovely body of hers. His first instinct, somehow, was just to let his magic flow. He had to protect her. He just didn't know why yet.

There were plenty of pretty faces still in the guild though, he wasn't above denying that. With the time he had left, there was no point in getting too attached to anyone. But there was just too much time to spend it just sitting around and waiting. He'd go insane. These distractions were all that had saved him over the last three years.

So when she left with Natsu, he turned away. Still, rumors were rampant within guilds and names were flying. Natsu, Happy, and Lucy.

Lucy.


	2. Chapter 2

The guild had grown stale. With each day, his lovers brought even less pleasure. Pulling his mind from the way he seemed to be fading each day became more difficult, but he refused to ruminate in his own losses. Lucy, his bright beacon.

He'd been biding his time. If the rumors were to be believed, Natsu had a prior claims over Lucy. Though Loke was unsure of what magic she possessed, it was apparently a powerful one, for she had assisted in the rescue of a dear friend to everyone at the guild. If he knew nothing else about her, the fact that she had gone on that rescue mission was enough for him. A kind heart like that was rare in a woman, though he was blessed to know more than his fair share at the guild. When the fire of Natsue and ice of Grey lit up the room, he chose his moment, approaching Lucy with a gleam in his eye and inexplicable anticipation pumping through his veins.

"Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy?" He cajoled, sliding an arm around her shoulders to pull her in closer. He couldn't afford to become attached, but one night was more than he could resist. "Tonight, just the two of us?"

"What?"

"You're just so stunningly gorgeous. I have to keep my shades on when I look at you, or I'll be blinded by your dazzling beauty." Adjusting his glasses, he waited for what he knew was coming. A sigh, a flutter of eyelashes, the sweet press of her body against his as she practically fell into his arms. Except, instead,

"Girls really fall for this?" Shifting back, she placed one hand on her hip, watching him doubtfully. A gleam caught his eye, and dread filled his stomach as he jumped back.

"You're not a celestial wizard, are you?" He practically shouted.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she's got cows and crabs and stuff." A half-eaten fish dangling from his mouth, Happy informed him as if he didn't realize just how dangerous that made Lucy.

"Curse you fate, why must you toy with me so!" Loke was in full retreat. For whatever reason, Fate had chosen him to further torture, offering, what seemed to him, to be a poison treat. Letting her in would only hasten the ache in his very being, a slave glorying in the torture of the master until his final moments. "I'm sorry, but you and I can't be together, my dear!"

Knowing that she must find him to be a total lunatic, he could hear their comments as he took to safety, finding his way out a back door as their words floated back to him. "Loke has a bad history with celestial wizards. Rumor has it that he dated one and it didn't end well." Mirajane was saying.

"Well I'm not surprised. He-" Lucy started to reply.

Not waiting to hear the rest, he turned away, pushing out the door. Though not a rumor he had started himself, though certainly there had been plenty of those to go around, he couldn't blame anyone for believing it with the steady stream of girls he had trailing after him on a day to day basis. No love in his heart could possibly exist for that woman, but the things he had done. The way it had ended. There was no escaping a shadow like that. It loomed over every sunrise, and every twinkle of the stars. When he closed his eyes, he knew that if he didn't wake up, it was because he didn't deserve to.

Slowed down to a walk by now, his hands jammed into his pockets, he almost didn't register it. That steady thrum, the stillness in the defensive air. It could only mean one thing, and it was enough to send him back to the guild.

"We've got bad news!" He announced, throwing open the door and trying to catch his breath. "It's Erza. She's on her way here." He informed them gravely. Nothing short of the orderly chaos he expected ensued. He did his best simply to get out of the doorway before she could make her entrance.

Even though she had given him a few bruises over that whole misunderstanding – it wasn't that he was hitting on her so much as letting her know that all he had to offer was hers for the taking come some lonely night in the near future – Erza did manage to reduce Natsu to a blathering pile of nerves, so at least there was that entertainment. And she was taking Lucy away with her, into danger with two idiots who couldn't see past each other's fists. At least she would be gone now. Gone, and away from him. So he remained seated long after the group had left for the train station the next morning, holding himself perfectly still as one girl after another sidled up next to him on the bench, clutching his arm and giggling at nothing. Even without them though, he knew there was no place for him beside _her_.


	3. Chapter 3

There may have been some unsavory rumors circulating the guild and Loke really wasn't above helping those along or adding a few extra juicy details. He'd heard talk that the entire moon drip mission had occurred with Lucy running around in her bright pink bra. His imagination added a few details, after all no one had said just how tiny that bra might be or even how thin. And pink was obviously her favorite color given the Fairy Tale seal stamped on her delicate little hand. It made him wonder what else she owned in pink. That bra had probably been part of a lovely little pair…

He could feel it as soon they got into town so he did the only plausible thing. He cleared out of the guild. His mind moved a little slower these days, but whatever tether he had to the celestial wizard was straining him. She had too much power, that much was clear.

By the time he returned to the guild, Natsu and Grey were back at the posting board. The fact that they were still alive after breaking guild rules was something he supposed. Maybe Lucy, the newbie, had been sent packing after participation and would be clearing out.

"Read what?" That voice, sweet honey, piped up from beside him, making him jump.

"You're back too, Lucy?" He said, though it came out as more of a shout than he would've preferred. He just had to play things cool with her and she would never find out. No one had learned his secret yet, but leave it to a celestial wizard to bring everything crashing down.

"Geez, it's real nice to see you too." She replied dryly. "What is your problem with me." Leveling her hard gaze with his, she tried to stare him down. He half expected her to bark out orders like she owned him.

"I-uh-nothing." He stammered, bracing for the getaway. Ursa brushed by him, her hard armor knocking him to the ground like he was nothing. More of his strength diminished by the day it seemed.

"Real smooth." Lucy allowed, kneeling beside him but thankfully not touching him. He wasn't sure he could've taken that. The ironic thing was, the closer she was to him, the more power he could feel surrounding his spirit. He just needed a moment to recover.

Then it happened. His soul…shivered. Everything felt stretched and distorted and he just wanted to roll his neck and shake off his body's skin.

Gray started to physically shiver, complaining of the cold except ice wizards didn't get cold.

Lucy's sweet feminine voice had disappeared, dropping several octaves as she dropped into a defensive posture. "My chest feels really weird all of the sudden!" She announced, so obligingly Loke lowered to gaze to see though he wasn't quite sure when he'd gotten up from the floor to stand right across from her. It seemed a little close now that he thought about it. "My back is killing me."

"That's weird. I don't remember lying down on the floor like that." Loke heard a voice, his voice, say. Trying to keep calm, he reached up to adjust his shades.

"I thought I was the one on the floor." He said. Turning back, Lucy's eyes caught his and he immediately retreated before she could work any other tricks on his mind. Out of the building, even if it meant skipping whatever happened inside.

Being outside didn't help like he thought. Once he got out of range, he rather thought Lucy's magic would wear off and he would start to feel normal. Apparently just being around a celestial wizard could hurt his spirit. It felt like lava had been poured down his throat. He approached some pretty girls who had been eyeing him for a while, after all one only lives for so long.

"Hey there, is it hot out here or is that just you?" He said, throwing a wink in for effect. Except…they ran. Girls didn't just run from him. They just…didn't.

That's when he noticed the steam and the smell of something burning coming from…his mouth?!

Racing back to the guild still streaming fire, Loke cleared the door at full speed. "Hey, guys, you gotta help me!" He shouted. He came face to face with himself though. His only explanation was that somehow his spirit had separated from his body and now everyone would know his secret.

Given a few minutes, it had been explained, the whole body switch thing. Natsu was in his body and the only thing he could learn about his powers was that they were fuzzy. Given he felt fuzzy more and more these days, he wasn't surprised. No one would ever talk to him again if he stayed like this and he couldn't even blame them. The others were so focused on never being able to work again, but it wasn't something he had ever expected. He'd always known a time would come when he wouldn't be strong enough to continue on. It had just come a little differently than he had anticipated. But then…

Nothing. Lucy and Gray were back to normal, congratulating Levy. Shouldn't he have felt something? Everything still felt off, and more off than he felt when in his own body which was saying something these days. In all the confusion, Mirajane was the master, the cheerleading duo, everyone really, no one would notice his spirit slip away. But what would happen to Natsu? Except…

A shiver.

And he was back, retaining a little bit of Natsu's fire for life.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been any other day. Lucy gallivanting about with Natsu, who was either going to save her life with his power or set her hair on fire in a little fight with Grey. He'd heard she had purchased a cute little house for herself in town only to be invaded by the rest of her so-called team. Loke had wandered by one occasion, not to check on her. No. Of course not. He had just so happened to be walking in the complete opposite direction of his house for no reason at all only to stumble upon the dainty little place where the power of a celestial wizard was at its strongest because of its resident. Obviously, it was a completely innocent wandering mistake on his part. Through the window – not because he was looking though, obviously – he had happened to catch a glance of Natsu and Grey, who naturally seemed to have lost his clothes somewhere along the way. Luckily, Lucy hadn't been in the room given the way Grey had lounged around on her furniture like some naked pervert. Still, with the two of them in a room alone, it was a wonder the entire block hadn't been demolished.

That had been weeks ago and now they were all off together on some job again. The guild hummed and buzzed with chatter as usual, the noise dulled and unfocused to Loke. Eventually, he had slunk on home, alone for once, to curl up under the covers. When he returned…

The guild had been desecrated by iron rods that shot through the walls like fists. The master urged everyone down to the basement, where they had worked together to set up tables and the job board, but even his waning senses could detect the underlying layer of rage everyone was keeping locked tight inside of themselves. Somehow, all he wanted was to push those intrusive rods from their home and rebuild it. The only home he had and now it too had been taken from him. Leaning against a pillar in the center of the room, he kept quiet and plotted. Schemes he was too weak to carry out, his power a mere cub to the veracious roar of strength that used to surge through him before. But oh, the murderers he committed in his head that day.

When Lucy and the group returned, he almost laughed. For the first time, her entering a room meant nothing. His spirit, like the rest of the guild members, were for once all in harmony. There was only despair and anger here. Keeping his position by the pole, he watched Lucy cross the room under the cover of his shades. Her tight pink bodice left a little too much definition and her pleated black skirt flirted along her thighs with every step. Given much more time and his pants would've been showing a bit too much definition too. Though he couldn't hear what the master was saying, he could guess. It had been Phantom Lords, those cowering fools who knew they could never win if they left the shadows.

A sting of possessiveness shot through him when the master's hand somehow ended up on Lucy's ass, but well he couldn't really blame the old man. In times such as these, he might as well go with his instincts. With instincts that were too dull to do much good these days, Loke relied upon his shades to do most of the concealing for him, tracking his pretty prey though he couldn't say why.

That evening some of them chose to stay behind and watch over the guild, Loke's original intent. However, Lucy took off on her own, chatting up her little spirit pet the shivery snowman. Prowling after her with his hands in his pockets, Loke tensed up as she balanced precariously on the very edge of the road next to the river that ran past. Some boatman called out something at her, but again, Loke's senses refused to cooperate. He recognized this road and when they closed in on the house, he recognizes the signs that other people were home. From over Lucy's shoulder quite a ways back, Loke could pinpoint the red flash of hair as Erza, the smell of lava as Natsu, and the chilling air as Grey. So she wouldn't be alone tonight. Not like him, though everyone in Fairy Tale had been assigned others to keep everyone safe. And back to the guild he went, hurrying to escape the inevitable pull of the celestial wizard.

When the news came that 3 members, a girl and two boys, had been found in the park, he felt his heart stop. It wasn't the stop he'd been expected for years, but rather that of a fist wrapping around the organ and squeezing until it had bled dry. All in a few seconds. But then he stopped and for a few precious moments of clarity he just knew. Even if Lucy did hang around with Grey and Natsu as a general rule, it wasn't her. He just…knew. This ability was definitely not one he was eager to expound upon though. In the march to the Phantom Lords, locked his powers down deep, trying to store them up. Whatever he had to give, the guild deserved it for this revenge. He was focused and well not powerful, certainly determined. Natsu politely knocked – honestly it wasn't their fault the door was so weak that a tiny, fiery punch resulted in an explosion right? – and Loke locked eyes on the first he would go after.

They had left the celestial wizard behind; Lucy would watch after Levy and the boys. More importantly, she would stay out of this herself, which meant she wouldn't have to open the celestial gates for the poor spirits forced into the human world to defend her and feel the pain of separation.


End file.
